“No, get up right now!” I shouted.
Everyone outside turned to look at us, but I didn’t have time to care.
A small fence separated the table from the street, so I couldn’t confront the man—who was staring right at me now, his face contorted into a devilish grin.
Everything went into slow motion as he pulled back his coat… I moved to throw myself in front of Michelle…
~Click! Click!~
~Click! Click! Click!~
“Smile, Sienna!” the man called from behind his camera, furiously snapping photos.
It took me a second to realize what was happening. And before I knew it, everyone at the restaurant had their phones out and were taking photos of Michelle and me.
The loud roar of a motor cut through the chaos as a pack car pulled up. Then Josh jumped out with two men who pushed back the crowd and threw their hands over the paparazzo’s lens.
“Get in. Now!” Josh barked, holding the door open.
“Don’t yell at us like we’re children,” Michelle shot back.
We slid into the back seat, and Josh shut the door and got in the car himself.
He turned to look at us.
“I hope you both realize how much trouble you’ve caused.”
^THE NEXT MORNING^
I turned the handle to off, letting the last trails of water escape down my chest.
It was almost winter now, but hot showers still reminded me of Aiden’s and my island honeymoon, of making love to him in the warm summer rain…
I sighed and stepped out of the shower, steam and memories both hugging my skin like a warm blanket.
It was funny to think that one year ago I had stood in this same bathroom, furious that I’d been tricked into staying with Aiden.
But now here I was, mated to the alpha of the East Coast Pack and wanting to be nowhere else but here in this house with the man I loved.
“Do you need help in there?” the man in question called through the door in his growly baritone voice.
“No,” I replied, smiling to myself. “I’m perfectly capable of drying off on my own, thank you very much!”
Over the past twelve months, Aiden had become more and more playful, letting down his guard and showing me a different side of the dominant alpha he had to display to the rest of the pack. A softer side.
He’d even been pretty understanding about yesterday’s fiasco. To be honest, I was kind of expecting a dressing down in his office, but he’d seemed more worried than angry.
It probably helped that I felt terrible about ditching my bodyguard and promised never to do it again.
“I’m happy to help,” he continued with a charming persistence. “It’s truly no problem at all.”
“Down, boy.” I laughed as I wrapped myself in a towel.
“But I’ve been so ~good~.”
“Good things come to those who wait.”
I wiped the steam off the mirror and tousled my damp locks before turning to open the door. But when I took a step forward, I ran right into Aiden.
Wrapping my arms around him, I pressed my wet body to his broad chest and gripped his muscular back.
But as soon as he tilted his head to kiss me, I pushed him away with a smirk. “I said good things come to those who ~wait~…and you didn’t wait.”
I sauntered over to my closet, making sure he had a good view of my ass, and once I was around the corner, tossed out my towel so he knew I was naked then pulled the sliding door closed.
I had barely put on my underwear when the door flew open and I found myself wrapped in Aiden’s arms, his lips on mine in heated passion.
I felt myself being lifted up and carried before we crashed onto our pillowy mattress, Aiden’s weight pressing against me with powerful longing. I could feel how hard he was, and I felt myself getting wet in anticipation.
He tore off his shirt, revealing his chiseled torso and bulging arms. His chest heaved with desire, and his golden-green eyes flickered with lust.
And when he leaned down and kissed me, and his lips were so soft and warm it felt like I was melting into them.
He lifted his head and gazed down at me. “I want to start a family with you, Sienna.”
“I know,” I replied, reaching up to pull his lips back to mine. “We will.”
But he resisted. “I mean right now. I want to start trying ~now~.”
His words caught me off guard. I knew we’d have to talk about this eventually, especially with the Fertility Festival coming up so soon, but I’d had more pressing issues on my mind.
Like being expected to perform outdated and humiliating rituals in front of the entire pack.
I’d tried talking to Aiden about my concerns, I really had, but every time I brought up the ceremony, he would go off on some tangent about how important these types of traditions were for the pack.
But even though it was just a simulation, I still considered him getting on top of me a fairly intimate, and ~private~, affair.
“Sienna?” Aiden asked, squeezing my thigh.
“Yes, sorry. I was someplace else.”
“Do you want to keep going?”
“Aiden…” I sighed. “I don’t know if I’m ready yet.”
“What do you mean, not ready? It’s been almost a year. And alphas are supposed to start trying for pups at the beginning of the first haze after they’ve been mated. It’s tradition.”
~Tradition.~ God, how I was starting to hate the sound of that word. And the haze, that lustful craze that possessed every werewolf during the mating season, was about to make matters ten times worse.
“Can we talk about this later?” I asked, trying to salvage the romantic moment that was quickly slipping away.
“Of course,” Aiden replied, gazing at me with soft, unsuspecting eyes. But the longer I looked into them, the more certain I became that I couldn’t go through with the ritual this weekend.
It killed me to do this to him, and I knew I shouldn’t have let it go this long, but something deep inside me didn’t feel right.
“Actually, there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about,” I said, breaking his gaze.
He rubbed my arm gently. “What is it?”
~Damn it, why does he have to be so sweet right now?~
But I couldn’t avoid this any longer. I had to tell him how I felt. I just hoped we could sort through this without it blowing up into a fight.
“Aiden, the fertility ritual…I don’t want to do it.”
A confused look came over his face. “Why? It’s only a short display for the pack so they can give us their blessings as we try to conceive.”
“If it’s just for the pack’s blessing, then why do we need to shift and do all the other stuff?”
“It’s symbolic.”
I was hoping Aiden would take a moment to listen to himself and realize how weak an argument he was making, but his genuinely puzzled expression meant I would have to spell out my objection.
“Maybe for you, but I think it’s degrading.”
“My mother did it, and so did my father’s mother. You’re my mate, Sienna. No one will think less of you—”
“It’s not about what other people think, Aiden. It’s about what I’m comfortable with.”
“Listen,” he said, rolling off me and sitting up on the bed. “This only happens once or twice in a lifetime. We’ll be shifted for less than a minute. Tradition is what keeps a pack together. Without it, we lose our identity.”
~Ugh, there’s that stupid word again~. “I feel like ~I’m~ losing my identity having to follow all these antiquated rules,” I shot back, sitting up myself.
He sighed. “Look, Sienna, forget the pack. Can you do this for me? I swear I’ll never ask you to do something like this again.”
Aiden was my world, and I would do anything to make him happy, but I hated that he wasn’t listening to me. As an alpha, he wasn’t used to compromise, but if our relationship was going to grow, he needed to figure out how.
“Do you seriously not understand where I’m coming from?”
“It’s just this once, Sienna,” he replied. “After this, you get to call the shots, my love.”
I could tell he wasn’t going to budge.
“I need to finish getting ready,” I said, hopping off the bed and heading back to the closet.
“Do you need any help?” he called out with a playful tone.
“No,” I said unenthusiastically. “I can manage on my own.”
“Let me know if you change your mind,” he said, picking up his shirt and blowing me a kiss before sauntering out of the bedroom.
***
Aiden had already left for the pack house, and I was about to head out the door to my gallery when my phone blew up.
You see today’s newspaper yet, sis?
Don’t pay attention to gossip! Everyone who knows you sees what a hard worker you are!
Let me know if you need anything, Sienna
OMG so sry babe 😮
Call me
As soon as you get this
~Oh shit.~